AIM 5.5 and iChatAV problems

M

Markim

Registered
I've been trying to make video and/or audio chat between a PC on the other side of the ocean and my Mac work. Mac to Mac with iChatAV 2.1 is no problem as you can imagine but AIM 5.5 that my friend on the PC uses must not really be as compatible as announced. Here are the facts and symptoms:

PC with Windows XP and AIM 5.5 installed. Using iBot Pro (Firewire) camera with a headset.

One time when we tried to contact each other, my friend saw me on his monitor but I could not see any video of him. Instead of his picture, I saw my own, just like the preview window. Audio didn't work at all.

Another time he could just hear me (in a very bad quality though) but didn't get a picture and I did not see or hear him at all. He claims that he didn't change any settings. What was odd too was that I sort of got an echo of what I was saying.

What I further noticed was that the text-audio-video panel on the bottom of the buddy list in iChat just shows him as text-chat-able only. But he can invite me for a video chat and the pop up invitation window looks just like an invitation from a iChatAV user. But with the above described symptoms. When my friend tries to invite me for an audio chat, his software tells him that my account was not able to do audio chats.

I know from earlier threads that some people have chatted with PCs. Have you made any similar experiences? How did you solve it?
 
I chat with someone overseas a couple times a week. He uses XP and AIM and we have similar problems at times.

He also uses Eyeball and ISPQ, and this seems to be the problem. His son is in IT and says the computer is grabbing the video for one of these other programs he's recently used and doesn't allow AIM to use the video. Don't know much about PC's, but after his son messes around with the machine, he can video conference with me with no problems.
 
I just read in a German forum that maybe RTC version 1.2 is missing on the Windows PC. RTC is an API that should make video and audio messaging possible. I have not found out yet if my friend uses version 1.2. This may also be a part of the problem. I will check with my friend too if there is another program running that is grabbing the video. This would make sense why it only works one way.
 
On the AIM 5.5 download page, there is also another small file needed to use video that you need to download and install, if not already present.
 
The problem seems to be solved now with the new AIM version 5.9. Video chats between a Windows AIM 5.9 user and Mac iChat user are now working fine and an iChat user can now send a video chat invitation to a Windwos user.
 
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